Lorry driver was beaten and killed before vehicle was commandeered to plough into market crowd

AS Berlin police continue their search for the man who drove a lorry into a crowded market, new details have been revealed about the fate of the truck’s original driver.

Ellen Whinnett in Berlin, wires

News Corp Australia NetworkDecember 21, 20165:38pm

Security agencies are on high alert across Europe after a suspected terrorist drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Germany, killing 12 people and injuring at least 48 more. Picture: Michele Tantussi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

AS German police continue their hunt for the man responsible for driving a lorry into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 people, they have used CCTV and GPS evidence to piece together the final hours of the truck’s original driver.

Lukasz Urban, 37, had driven to Berlin from Turin to deliver steel and had parked while he waited for his cargo to be unloaded.

After Tuesday’s atrocity, Mr Urban was found dead in the cab.

Police said he had been beaten, stabbed and shot.

Mr Urban, from a small village in north-west Poland, was married with a teenage son. He arrived at steel firm ThyssenKrupp’s depot in Friedrich-Krause-Ufer Strasse, four miles (6.4km) north of the Christmas market, at 8am local time on Monday.

But he was told there was no one to remove the load and he would have to wait until the next day.

Ariel Zurawski, the owner of a Polish trucking company, shows the last photo taken of his cousin and driver, Lukasz Urban. Picture: AP PhotoSource:AP

It was not clear where he parked, but it is understood he stayed in the vicinity of the depot.

Mr Urban spoke to Ariel Zurawski, his cousin and boss, at around noon, when he said he was hungry. He visited a kebab restaurant in the area at around 2pm – where he was caught on CCTV – before returning to his cab.

His wife spoke to him at 3pm, when he complained about having to wait to get unloaded, but he was never heard from again.

At 3.19pm and 3.44pm the lorry’s electronic systems recorded failed attempts to start the engine, followed by a series of ‘erratic movements’.

The driver fought off his attacker, but was killed by the unknown man who eventually ploughed it into a market crowd. Picture: Ella PellegriniSource:Supplied

Mr Urban’s wife said she tried to contact him by phone at 4pm but could not reach him. The lorry was then driven in short distances towards the Christmas market.

During these short journeys the GPS showed that the engine appeared to be ‘choking’ so the company tried to contact the driver to find out what was happening. However, no one answered the calls.

Mr Zurawski said: “It looks as if someone was trying to learn how to drive the lorry.”

There was no more movement until around 7.34pm, when the truck started up again and travelled some six miles (9.65km) sometimes turning in tight spots or crossing the double line, before arriving at the Christmas market.

Mr Urban’s colleagues said his injuries showed he had “fought to the end” to defend his vehicle. Mr Zurawski was asked to identify Mr Urban from a photograph. He said: “It was really clear that he was fighting for his life. His face was swollen and bloodied.”

‘A SOLDIER OF ISLAMIC STATE’

Earlier, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which left 12 people dead and nearly 50 injured.

IS released a statement on Tuesday through its Amaq news agency that the attacker “in Berlin is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition.”

Germany is not involved in anti-IS combat operations, but has Tornado jets and a refuelling plane stationed in Turkey in support of the coalition fighting militants in Syria, as well as a frigate protecting a French aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean.

The claim of responsibility came after German prosecutors released a man, from Pakistan who came to Germany last year, who was arrested on Monday night near the scene of the attack, suspected of driving the truck.

The man’s arrest was based on a description of a suspect who jumped out of the truck and fled but federal prosecutors say he denied any involvement and no forensic evidence linked him to the truck’s cabin.

Federal Criminal Police Office chief Holger Muench and other officials had expressed doubt earlier that the man in custody was driving the truck. Muench also said police were yet to find a pistol which is believed to have been used to kill Mr Urban.

Germany’s top prosecutor, Peter Frank, told reporters the attack on the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was reminiscent of July’s deadly truck attack in Nice.

Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted the attack cannot change Germans’ way of life.

“Twelve people who were still among us yesterday, who were looking forward to Christmas, who had plans for the holidays, aren’t among us anymore,” she said in an emotional, nationally televised statement before heading to the scene of the attack in downtown Berlin.

“A gruesome and ultimately incomprehensible act has robbed them of their lives.”

Later Merkel and German President Joachim Gauck attended a memorial service at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and laid white roses outside.

Witnesses saw only one man flee from the truck after it rammed into the crowd at the Christmas market at 8.15pm, smashing wooden stalls and travelling 60 to 80m before coming to a halt.

Six of those killed have been identified as Germans. The other five people killed have not yet been identified. Twenty-five people remained hospitalised, 14 with serious injuries.

TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR CHANCELLOR

Merkel, who has been criticised for allowing in huge numbers of migrants last year, addressed head-on the possibility that an asylum-seeker was responsible for the carnage.

“I know that it would be particularly hard for us all to bear if it were confirmed that a person committed this act who asked for protection and asylum in Germany,” Merkel said.

“This would be particularly sickening for the many, many Germans who work to help refugees every day and for the many people who really need our help and are making an effort to integrate in our country.”

Police searched a large asylum seeker shelter at the city’s defunct Tempelhof airport with four men in their late 20s questioned but no one was arrested, the Associated Press said.

Police chief Holger Muench warned one or more of the perpetrators of the truck attack may still be on the loose.

“We are, of course, highly alarmed and we are investigating — of course — in all directions,” Muench said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We have the wrong man,” said a senior police chief. “And therefore a new situation. The true perpetrator is still armed, at large and can cause fresh damage,” Die Welt newspaper reported.

Berliners gathered in their thousands at the scene of the attack to lay flowers and pay tribute to the people who died.

As police continued to guard the scene and block the roads surrounding the attack site thousands of red, white and yellow flowers were laid, wth candles lit to honour the victims of the terror attack, including another 48 people who were injured.

The church’s bells tolled through the day and in to the evening as mourners came to pay their respects.

An impromptu concert was also held, with Germans raising their voices to sing Amazing Grace in a show of defiance and solidarity against terror.

The Government had ordered all 40 of Berlin’s famous Christmas markets to close for the day and beefed up the police presence at the markets.

The attack followed the targeting of tourists in Jordan which killed 10 people, and came just hours after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot in the head in front of media and guests at an art exhibition in Ankara.

photo galleryBerlin Christmas market attack in pictures

Police stand near a black lorry that ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. At least nine people have died as police investigate the attack and whether it is linked to a terrorist plot. Picture: Getty1 of 17

Firefighters look at a toppled Christmas tree after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP2 of 17

A general view shows the site where a truck speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016 killing nine persons and injuring at least 50 people. Picture: AFP3 of 17

Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher in the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty4 of 17

A truck is seen near the Christmas market in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Several people have died while dozens have been injured as police investigate the attack at a market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on the Kurfuerstendamm and whether it is linked to a terrorist plot. Picture: Reuters5 of 17

Police officers stand beside a truck which ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP6 of 17

Glass is shattered on the windshield as rescue workers walk near the damaged lorry truck after it was ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty7 of 17

Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher in the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty8 of 17

A policeman inspects the truck that crashed into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016. Picture: AFP9 of 17

An injured man is pushed to an ambulance at the site of an accident with a truck at a Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz square near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: Reuters10 of 17

Firefighters inspect the site after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP11 of 17

A firefighter attends an injured person in an ambulance after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany. Picture: AP12 of 17

Forensic experts of the police investigate the crime scene after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP13 of 17

Berlin’s mayor Michael Mueller walks at the site where a truck speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016. Picture: AFP14 of 17

A policeman with a submachine gun stands at the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty15 of 17

Policemen get of the truck that speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016 killing at least one person and injuring at least 50 people. Picture: AFP16 of 17

People stand at the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty17 of 17

Police stand near a black lorry that ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. At least nine people have died as police investigate the attack and whether it is linked to a terrorist plot. Picture: Getty

Firefighters look at a toppled Christmas tree after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP

A general view shows the site where a truck speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016 killing nine persons and injuring at least 50 people. Picture: AFP

Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher in the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty

A truck is seen near the Christmas market in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Several people have died while dozens have been injured as police investigate the attack at a market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on the Kurfuerstendamm and whether it is linked to a terrorist plot. Picture: Reuters

Police officers stand beside a truck which ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP

Glass is shattered on the windshield as rescue workers walk near the damaged lorry truck after it was ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty

Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher in the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty

A policeman inspects the truck that crashed into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016. Picture: AFP

An injured man is pushed to an ambulance at the site of an accident with a truck at a Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz square near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: Reuters

Firefighters inspect the site after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP

A firefighter attends an injured person in an ambulance after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany. Picture: AP

Forensic experts of the police investigate the crime scene after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. Picture: AP

Berlin’s mayor Michael Mueller walks at the site where a truck speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016. Picture: AFP

A policeman with a submachine gun stands at the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty

Policemen get of the truck that speeded into a christmas market in Berlin, on December 19, 2016 killing at least one person and injuring at least 50 people. Picture: AFP

People stand at the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market on December 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Picture: Getty

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Security and rescue workers tend to the area after a lorry truck ploughed through a Christmas market. Picture: Michele Tantussi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images